With the mess that exists in the City of Joburg’s billing system, coupled with tardy service delivery in other Gauteng cities, it's hardly surprising that the Western Cape has emerged as the top province when it comes to providing basic services.
The proportion of households receiving free basic services from municipalities was significantly higher in the Western Cape than in any other province in the country according to a survey undertaken by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA).
The results of StatsSA’s findings are contained in the South Africa Survey compiled by the South African Institute of Race Relations. The figures show that 82% of indigent households in the province received free basic water compared with the national average of 58%.
Despite the row over toilets in Khayalitsha last year, 69% of indigent people in the Western Cape received free sanitation services compared with the national average of just 33% and 52% received refuse removal services compared with the national average of just 23%.
According to the figures KwaZulu-Natal is the most tardy province when it comes to providing free electricity with just 15% of people living in that province having access to free electricity.
About 46% of the people in South Africa are getting their free basic electricity allocations and in the Free State, 63% of its people benefit while in the Western Cape that figure is lower at 46%.
In terms of providing free water to its citizens, Mpumalanga was the worst-performing province with water provision to only 41% of the people and sanitation services reaching just 13%.
Commenting on the figures, SAIRR spokesman Kerwin Lebone says that when the figures are combined, they show that Western Cape municipalities have sound revenue collection mechanisms in place, have a superior infrastructure to control the free service allocations and a willingness and capability to spend money on essential services for indigent households.
Readers' Comments Have a comment about this article? Email us now.
Print
